North Texas' $450M cowboy paradise brings luxury homes, horses and glamping

Denton's next sprawling development aims to capture the spirit of North Texas, bringing luxury homes, a destination spa, upscale glamping-and even horses-to hundreds of acres of prairieland.

Florida-based An Ki Land Development LLC plans to transform roughly 740 acres in north Denton into Wildhaven, according to the Dallas Business Journal. On Thursday, Augusto Rodelo Mac Gregor, a senior designer with HKS-the firm designing the project-told Chron the name aptly reflects its vision. 

"Especially in this part of the world, we don't have a lot of rolling hills, this land has a little bit of everything," Mac Gregor said. "It's got creeks, forests, open grazing lands, right now they have a bunch of cows roaming around, and it's a beautiful site." 

Mac Gregor described Wildhaven as upscale but affordable-luxurious, but open to everybody. The development will focus heavily on enhancing the natural landscape it's set within. 

"The Blackland Prairies was the heart of this project," Mac Gregor said. 

'Cowboy, but comfort'

The community will feature lowkey architecture with a modern farmhouse feel that emphasizes its Western character.

"It's all about the views. A lot of glass," Mac Gregor said. 

Wildhaven's planned amenities include a 30,000-square-foot destination spa, a roughly 50,000-square-foot clubhouse with an event barn, two tennis courts, four padel courts and 10 treehouse glamping units. The development will also feature infinity pools, hot tubs, miles of horseback-riding and hiking trails, and a 100-room hotel.

"The hotel itself…it's four stories, but in reality its stairsteps, so the entire hotel is laid out as a one-story build," Mac Gregor said, adding that the rooms will be slightly larger than average to accommodate guests traveling with larger luggage like hiking backpacks, boots and other outdoor gear. 

The development will revolve around and overlook a large man-made lake, which will act as a communal piece of the property.

"We even set it up in a way that when you drive up to the hotel, you pass all these amenities," Mac Gregor said. "We spoke about having pastures for the horses…when you drive up (we want people) to see horses, you know, roaming around."

Investors and funding are reportedly lined up, with the hope for crews to break ground by the end of this year, Mac Gregor said. 

"North Dallas is booming…one of the things that everybody craves is the outdoors," he added, highlighting that the vision for the property is to enhance the natural flora, build with respectful architecture and create a "cowboy, but comfort" feel.

Plans for multimillion-dollar housing 

In addition to the resort, Wildhaven will feature 150 high-end homes priced between $1.5 and $3 million or more, Logan Breen, managing director of An Ki Land Development, told the Dallas Business Journal. Developers estimate the community will be worth $350 to $450 million at buildout. 

The first phase of the residential development includes 20 lots, set to be developed by Argyle-based Noble Classic Homes. 

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